Transition to the System for Award Management (SAM) (FAR Case 2011-021)

Summary:

FAC 2005-55 includes issuing a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to update certain definitions and clauses pertaining to three procurement systems included in the Integrated Acquisition Environment--the Central Contractor Registration database, the Excluded Parties List System, and the Online Representations and Certifications Application. These three Integrated Acquisition Environment systems and the Disaster Response Registry will now be accessed through a single Web site.

Supplementary:

Background

The Integrated Acquisition Environment (IAE) is an electronic-Government initiative. The IAE is aggregating disparate Federal acquisition content, which is currently housed in numerous online systems, by providing one Web site for regulations, systems, resources, opportunities, and training. The Web site at https://www.acquisition.gov was designed to create an easily navigable resource that is both more efficient and transparent.

The transition of the IAE to the new System for Award Management (SAM) architecture has begun. This effort will transition the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) database, the Excluded Parties List System (EPLS), and the Online Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA) to the new architecture. This case provides the first step in updating the FAR for these changes, and it updates the Web addresses present in the FAR for these systems as being accessible through https://www.acquisition.gov. This rule also amends the FAR to provide for accessing the Disaster Response Registry through https://www.acquisition.gov. As the transition to SAM progresses, future FAR cases are anticipated to change the current names of the systems to SAM, as well as to begin the transition of the remaining IAE systems.

Dates:

Effective Date:  The Effective Date for this interim rule is 2 February 2012.

Click here to read the entire Federal Register notice for this rule.